Gaston de Raousset-Boulbon

Gaston de Raousset-Boulbon (5 May 1817-13 August 1854) was a French adventurer, filibuster, and entrepreneur who was best known for his leadership of failed filibuster expeditions to Sonora, Mexico in 1852 and 1854. He was executed by firing squad after being captured by the Mexican Army in 1854.

Biography
Gaston de Raousset-Boulbon was born in Avignon, France in 1817, and he inherited the title of count under the Bourbon monarchy. In 1845, following the death of his father, he served under General Thomas Robert Bugeaud during the French conquest of Algeria, but the French Revolution of 1848 killed his hopes of making a new fortune in Africa. He returned to Paris, where the bourgeoisie was coming to be more powerful than the fading aristocracy, and he decided to emigrate to San Francisco in the United States, where he was upset about the lack of respect which he expected as a Count. After a series of failed enterprises as a gold prospector, he raised a group of mercenaries and attempted two filibuster expeditions to Sonora, Mexico from California. In 1852, he captured the Sonoran capital of Hermosillo, but he was forced to surrender to General Miguel Blanco at Guaymas. In 1854, his forces returned to Sonora, but they lacked popular support, and he was captured on 13 July 1854. On 13 August 1854, Raousset-Boulbon was executed by firing squad.